Title: Wild bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) from remote surveys in northern Ontario and Akimiski Island, Nunavut including four new regional records
Abstract: Bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) are important pollinators in northern Canada but observations of species occurrences in such remote regions are largely lacking. We report on bee species surveyed across 22 sites in northern Ontario and neighbouring Akimiski Island in Nunavut, using coloured pan traps, Nzi traps, Malaise traps, and hand netting over five years in Ontario and nine years in Nunavut. From morphological identification and DNA barcoding, we identified 30 species from 93 specimens. We document four new occurrence records for Nunavut, Halictus virgatellus Cockerell (Halictidae), Megachile circumcincta (Kirby) (Megachilidae), Megachile melanophaea Smith (Megachilidae), and Osmia paradisica Sandhouse (Megachilidae). Also, we report on a bilaterally gynandromorphic M. melanophaea from Akimiski Island and a new DNA barcode for the rare Osmia nearctica Rightmyer, Griswold and Arduser (Megachilidae). These northern collections represent one of the most comprehensive surveys of wild bees in the southern Hudson Bay region, filling an important biogeographic gap for Canada.
Publication Year: 2021
Publication Date: 2021-07-29
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 1
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